The United Arab Emirates' ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba affirmed on Monday that the new US President Joe Biden will review pending arms sales to U.S. allies soon.
Al Otaiba said he was confident that the deal to sell American F-35s to his country would go through after Biden's review, according to Reuters.
“We did everything by the book and they will discover that once the review is complete and it will proceed,” Otaiba told a virtual Washington Institute forum, describing the review as “pro forma”.
“Everything is still proceeding while undergoing a review at the same time. I am confident it will end up in the right place,” Otaiba added.
“If you are going to have less of a presence and less involvement in the Middle East, you can’t at the same time take tools away from your partners who are expected to do more,” he continued.
The UAE concluded the aircraft deal in the last ruling days of former President Donald Trump, worth 23 billion dollars and includes 50 F-35s, 18 drones and other weapons.
However, the Biden administration decided to halt all arms sales until it is reviewed.
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